Do you know about “VR (Virtual Reality)”? Even in Japan, the word “VR” has become more common, but many people may not be familiar with it in detail.
“VR” means virtual reality. Recent years have seen advances in technology that have enabled many experiences that were previously impossible. In addition, “VR” is beginning to be used in a variety of business fields. What is “VR” here? Starting with this part, we will introduce in detail the history of “VR” and the businesses in which it is used.
What is “VR (Virtual Reality)”?
VR is an abbreviation for “Virtual Reality”. In Japanese, it is translated as “virtual reality.” VR Virtual Reality refers to the fact that, although the images you are viewing are technologically created, you can experience an experience so close to reality that you may feel it is real. To put it simply, VR allows you to express a virtual space in a form that is as close to a real experience as possible, and the realistic experiences created by VR technology feel as if they were happening in real life. “AR”, which means “augmented reality”, is a type of “VR” and refers to the creation of a virtual space by combining CG technology with videos and images in the real world.
The beginning of “VR (Virtual Reality)”
Now, let’s briefly touch on the history of “VR (Virtual Reality).”
The beginning of “VR” and how the concept of “VR” was recognized
In fact, did you know that a concept similar to today’s VR has existed for a long time?
The story goes back to 1968, about 50 years ago. It is said that VR began when Ivan Sutherland, an American scientist, announced a system that became the predecessor of VR. When you think about it now, this system is very simple.
Hang the headset from the ceiling and place it on your head. By mixing images flowing in a computer with real images, it becomes a system that creates virtual reality, which is the concept of VR. This will be similar to current VR goggles. Although it is a simple system, it must have had a major impact on the development of modern VR technology. It is said that the concept of virtual reality called VR became widely recognized worldwide in the 1990s. At that time, the “The Eyephone” and “The Data Glove” systems announced by Jaron Lanier, an American scientist and engineer, had a major impact on expanding awareness.
The two systems, “The Eyephone” and “The Data Glove,” led to the completion of VR goggles that display images, which is the basic structure of current VR. It is also said that with this announcement, the word “VR”, which has become popular in modern times, began to spread around the world. However, although the word “VR” had become widespread, the two systems themselves were expensive to sell, so they never reached the market.
VR development is accelerating
In the 1990s, many VR devices were announced one after another, and the market became exciting. In fact, in Japan, Nintendo attracted attention in 1995 when it released a game console that utilized VR technology. Globally, the 1990s was also a time when VR technology was announced one after another, and at the same time, advances in CG technology were also seen. Therefore, it can be said that this is the era when the VR boom suddenly took hold. However, the CG technology at that time was still at the development stage, and as it was not yet available on the market, the selling price was extremely high. As a result, by the year 2000, the word VR itself was gradually fading from the world.
“VR” is once again attracting attention
In 2014, a company that pioneered VR technology was acquired by Facebook (currently Meta), which had a major impact on the VR market, and brought VR back into the spotlight. The VR technology developed by the company that pioneered VR was able to reproduce the technology without requiring difficult technology, so many companies poured their efforts into development and developed VR technology and equipment one after another. Released.
In 2016, competition among VR development companies regarding the overall quality of VR will intensify, and the quality of VR will improve at a dizzying speed. VR has achieved rapid growth in the blink of an eye by leveraging the experience cultivated over various eras. Today’s VR quality has been developed over many years.
VR business
In recent years, VR technology has been increasingly used in business settings. With the passage of time, we are beginning to see cases in a variety of industries that provide new customer experiences and contribute to improving the efficiency of work and meetings. From here, we will introduce specific examples of how VR is used in business situations.
Product PR and promotion
The most anticipated aspect of VR utilization is the ability to express services and products that do not exist on VR, have people actually experience them, and recognize their value. . The quality of a service or product can only be conveyed by actually using and seeing it. The use of VR has made it possible to realistically reproduce services and products, and there are an increasing number of cases in which the appeal can be conveyed to the maximum extent possible, and it is attracting increasing attention in various business situations.
Examples include fashion shows, sports matches, and car ride experiences in the apparel industry, previews using VR in the real estate industry, and travel experiences using VR in the tourism industry. By making it possible to recreate a realistic experience as if you were actually in that space, VR technology can now compensate for various negative aspects. As a result, consumer concerns are gradually being resolved, and many companies are starting to meet the needs of today’s world. In addition, a new business is emerging that allows users to experience the feeling of actually enjoying shopping at a store by creating an actual clothing store in VR. The birth of a new business that allows people to enjoy shopping without having to visit a physical store will have a major impact on the future shopping market, for better or for worse.
Simulation using VR
Among the introductions of VR by companies, there are examples of its use in training, manuals, and training. Simulations using VR technology are highly effective in the medical field, which requires complex operations, and in jobs that require mastery of work, such as in the field where actual product assembly and equipment operation are required. I’m doing it.
By making full use of VR technology to create situations that are close to reality and repeating the same experiences as in real life, it is possible to efficiently acquire skills similar to reality, improving skills and reducing the number of people and time required for training. I did. In reality, it is difficult to train for the same experience over and over again in irregular situations, but by making full use of VR technology, it is possible to conduct highly difficult training. VR technology can provide training that can be used to deal with highly urgent cases in the medical field, etc., so VR’s groundbreaking high reproducibility will continue to play an important role in a variety of fields. .
VR conference similar to face-to-face
“Video conferencing” is much more popular than ever before. Applications for “VR conferences” that conduct meetings through
avatars
in the virtual space created by VR have also appeared. Additionally, in recent years, an increasing number of companies have actually introduced VR conferencing applications. A feature of VR conferences is that you can experience the feeling of actually being in the conference room.
By being able to experience the unique feeling of being in the same space through an avatar with VR, meetings and presentations will be of a higher quality than before.
For example, sharing files during a video conference requires switching screens. Therefore, there are restrictions on the movement of the viewpoint, but in a VR conference, participants can look at the whiteboard while looking at other participants, and participants can simultaneously add ideas to the image projected on the screen. The system allows meetings to proceed actively.
VR conferences, which make it possible to achieve high-quality communication in a virtual space, will continue to attract attention as a powerful option for continuing high-density meetings without compromising the quality of discussions, in the modern era where remote environments are attracting more attention. It will be done.
What is VR advertising?
Did you know that VR technology has also begun to enter the advertising market?
From here, we will introduce VR advertising and how it works.
In recent years, many advertisements have been displayed while viewing video platforms such as YouTube. In the same way, VR platforms can display advertisements in virtual space. Advertisements displayed in this virtual space are called “VR advertisements.” As the web advertising market gains momentum, various companies are working on advertising using VR, and as VR becomes more popular, attention as a new advertising will continue to increase.
The main difference between regular advertisements and VR advertisements is the “immersion” that is the real thrill of VR.
Advertisements distributed mainly on TV commercials, YouTube, etc. focus on conveying company information, product images, services, and impressions in a short period of time, whereas VR advertisements use virtual space to convey more information. You can provide users with a realistic experience.
For example, in an international travel ad, let’s say a user is considering a destination. By distributing VR advertisements for the travel destination being considered, it becomes possible to experience the charm of the local area, which could not be conveyed through conventional advertisements, through a simulated experience before traveling. In addition, when promoting car sales or housing sales, VR can realistically reproduce the inside of a car or the interior of a house. Another advantage is that you can accurately approach users with the service content you want to convey.
VR advertising mechanism
The mainstream ad delivery method for conventional video advertising was to display the ad unilaterally to users viewing the video content by showing the ad at the beginning or middle of the video content. However, in the case of VR advertising, the basic idea is to place the advertisement within the virtual space created by VR. Therefore, users who are immersed in the virtual space will see VR advertisements in the same way as they would see billboards in the city, which they often see in the real world, so we can expect a natural flow into the promotion. You can. Above all, with VR advertising, if there is no change in the user’s line of sight for a certain period of time, or if some action is confirmed, the content delivered by VR advertising can be immediately experienced in a virtual space. Periodic services are also being created.
summary
I have explained about “VR (Virtual Reality)”, but what did you think? Today, we live in an era where new things are born every day and various things are updated. “VR (Virtual Reality)” is still in its development stage, but with the diversification of devices and the development of technology, many ways to use it will appear in various fields.
Additionally, with the steady development of 5G communication networks, “VR (virtual reality)” continues to receive increasing attention in many fields, including the business field. I think it could become an indispensable presence in building new business models in the future.